When she heard the news, in that dark room, it felt like time had paused.
Her hands and feet turned cold, her heart began beating with such strength it felt about to burst out of her chest.
Then, excruciatingly slowly, the feeling disappeared, replaced with a chilling numbness that didn't go away no matter how much time passed. It felt horrible.
It seemed like the world went on without her from that moment forth, and as far as she was concerned, it really did. She just didn't want to believe in it.
…
"Show this cheeky girl her place in this world! She is nothing!" Rhamn cheered on the edge of the arena, which made the corner of Cyril's eye twitch.
He stood in the center of the arena and twirled his spear, assuming a ready stance.
Opposite him, Myra did the same, her actions almost an exact copy of his.
The professor and the students gathered around them, observing with excitement. While participating was a whole other question, everyone loved spectating a duel.
Soon the professor, who seemed just as excited as the students, sternly yelled, "Begin!"
Cyril shot forward immediately and attacked with a flurry of thrusts. He's been learning martial arts since an early age, and people always praised him for his talent. Each strike of his was fast, carrying great strength behind it.
In response, Myra didn't try to retreat or flail her spear in defense. She dashed in to meet his flurry and expertly wove in between them.
Now right in front of him, she made a single thrust of her own, forcing Cyril to desperately dodge.
He took some steps to the side and then back, recovering some distance. Myra didn't pursue, focusing on him with a certain glint in her eyes.
She is strong…
The moment she began swinging her spear, the look in her eyes changed completely. Before, she looked like a nervous mess shooting way above her ability, but now her stance turned calm, her eyes sharp. She looked like a hound ready to attack.
I need to take this more seriously.
Cyril walked forward, spear at the ready, observing her every movement.
Myra attacked first this time, swinging the spear sideways.
Cyril parried it and immediately struck himself, but she was able to dodge it at the last second.
In a similar manner they've gone back and forth, their attacks never reaching each other. To the students around them, this almost looked like a carefully choreographed dance.
"Stop!" Soon the booming voice of the professor signaled the end of the duel.
The surrounding students exclaimed as well, some even starting to clap.
"I'm glad to find out we have some good students here. This fight was exceptional." The professor's loud voice was tinged with satisfaction.
The announcement brought Cyril back to reality as he leaned on his spear in support, recovering his breath.
How could I…?
Even though their fight didn't have an official conclusion, he felt a frustrating sense of defeat. To him it seemed like Myra was able to finish the fight at any moment but simply chose not to.
She could respond to his every move as if she knew them all beforehand.
"She must've cheated!" Rhamn appeared fuming near him, her red eyes full of anger.
No, she didn't. Calm down.
Cyril went through the crowd and to the bench, needing further rest.
The professor, in the meantime, went to conduct other duels, and the students moved on with him.
After brief hesitation, Myra joined him on the benches as well.
"You fought well. If I had relaxed for even a second, you would've won. How did you learn to fight like that?" she asked with a sheepish smile.
Her face no longer carried any of its earlier sharpness, reverting to the almost cowering expression.
"I trained," Cyril replied with an obvious coldness to his voice.
Having lost the duel as he perceived it, he couldn't get rid of a certain frustrating feeling when facing her. It was directednot so much at her as at himself.
But still, able to see his hostility, Myra froze. Her head lowered slightly as her shoulders slumped, her eyes meekly wandering around. She looked almost ready to cry.
"This bitch! Why is she pretending to be soft and weak now?!" Rhamn glared at her with intense hatred. If she were able to, she would no doubt slap her at this moment.
Stop it.
He couldn't explain why, but Myra's meekness didn't seem fake to him.
I lost in a fair duel, don't be such a sore loser.
Cyril quietly took a breath, calming down significantly, and turned towards the awkward-looking Myra. "I owe everything I know to a teacher back home."
Myra's face noticeably and very quickly brightened, as if some terrible tragedy was suddenly averted.
"Tsk."
"What about you? How did you get so strong?" he asked next, ignoring Rhamn's suspicious eyes. He was always praised for being a genius when it came to martial arts, and he had never encountered a peer stronger than him before.
Myra took a moment to answer, awkwardly scratching at her auburn hair.
"…Same."
"I mean, no. I don't have an official teacher, and it's not like my village had any masters... It was a lucky encounter on my part," she quickly mumbled with a distant look.
"What is that even supposed to mean?"
He didn't even react to the snide remark, his attention grabbed by Myra's words.
"Village? Does that mean you are not from the city?"
She silently nodded.
I've never met anyone from outside before...
"So she is not even from a civilized place? I guess we should've expected that."
I asked you to stop it.
He sent a complaining glance to Rhamn, who sighed and crossed her arms, reluctantly staying silent.
Myra didn't say anything else, and, even though he was somewhat curious how the world looked beyond the walls of the city, he didn't ask anything.
They watched the rest of the duels in silence.
In total there were two other fights. The first one went through steadily with a clear winner after an energetic fight.
The last one was between the young man Cyril wanted to fight earlier, Cedric, and another student.
Though Cyril paid little attention to him now, having found someone clearly stronger. The fight just now also didn't seem too exciting.
After this they listened to some motivating and slightly militaristic speeches while performing all kinds of exercises under the energetic eyes of their professor. He really seemed to like his job.
So much so that by the end of the lesson, most of the students were completely exhausted, their legs barely able to carry them. All they could do now is dream about a soft bed.
Rhamn found their plight amusing, laughing without restraint, but Cyril didn't linger too long. He only said goodbye to Myra, who stuck close to him for the whole lesson, and left.
...
As he walked back to his dorm, the encounter with Myra went to the back of his mind, his thoughts inevitably occupied with a peculiar condition he seemed to have.
What should I do now? Just pretend like nothing is wrong while hoping that healer can find something?
"Of course!" Rhamn materialized, walking beside him. "Because nothing is wrong indeed."
He sent her a sidelong glance and sighed.
You keep mentioning that, but you have to realize how unusual this whole situation is, right?
Rhamn made an awkward smile and shrugged.
"Not everything can be explained. Life continues regardless, so I say we should just keep going without thinking too much into things."
...What a blissful mindset.
At this moment he was passing by the park near his dorm. Its size was impressive, as if a small forest was placed beside the dormitory.
Right as he was walking by the entrance, from there a particularly strong gust of wind hit Cyril.
He shielded his eyes with his arm and looked at the direction it came from with suspicion.
Not far inside, on a park bench, was lying a conspicuous letter subtly glowing purplish.
Now what?
Cyril frowned and looked around him but saw no one, while Rhamn glared at the letter with a suspicious and excited glint to her red eyes.
"It's clearly a message to us! Let's check it out!"
Cyril slowly made his way towards the bench and looked around, still finding no one.
Then, apprehensive of touching the obviously magical letter with his bare hands, he leaned in to get a closer look.
It was a small piece of paper with a single line beautifully written in the middle: "Don't worry. Hide it." Below it was a drawing of a sword entwined with a flower.
As soon as he read it, the letter suddenly started melting into nothingness. In no time at all, the piece of paper was gone completely, and in front of him was just a regular bench.
As soon as he could, Cyril stood up straight and looked around. All he saw were tall trees gently swaying in the wind, not a single trace of other humans nearby.
Hide it? Don't worry? Is it telling me my situation is safe as long as no one knows about this?
After a few minutes of fruitlessly looking around the park, Cyril cautiously walked back home, paying attention to everything on the way.
"Let's stay calm and think about the message for now." Walking by his side, Rhamn pinched her chin in thought.
Her red eyes lacked any urgency or anxiety, instead, they shone with the excitement of a child finding an interesting new toy.
You really find this fun?
Cyril shot her a helpless stare as he was opening the door to his dorm.
"Of course! That's so exciting. It's like we are taking part in some spy play."
Just as Cyril's glare was becoming worse, she hastily added in defense.
"Besides, this is clearly a message trying to help us!"
Cyril contemplated her words as he walked down the corridor, soon reaching his room.
Let's hope you are right.
But the necessity of the message is concerning. What damage would there be from people knowing?
He walked inside and closed the door behind him. After taking a look around for anything suspicious and finding nothing, Cyril sat down on the bed.
Rhamn reappeared, sitting on the bed as well, crossing her legs with a smile.
"Maybe my presence is some superpower that the mad mages of the Empire would want to steal for themselves?! Or we are one of the last surviving member of a secretive race that used to rule the world?!"
I doubt it's… that.
Anyway, someone knows what's wrong with me. They aren't willing to talk about it, but they do say I'll be fine.
Should I believe them or not? That's the question.
Cyril lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling in thought.
And if I do, for how long will I stay ignorant? It's not exactly a good feeling.
Rhamn came close to the bed and leaned over him, her red eyes staring at him with excitement.
"We can ask that old woman who she consulted. That must be the one who sent the letter!"
I guess that's a start.
She stood up straight and rubbed her chin in thought, like a detective on the case.
"There is also that emblem on the letter. What could it mean?"
"Ah!" Soon, she gasped with anticipation and looked at Cyril, awaiting his next words.
...Right. That's my family's emblem.
Rhamn began pacing around the room, nodding to herself from time to time.
"I see, I see. Perhaps that someone is trying to say that they are loyal to your family, or..."
She halted and playfully pointed at Cyril.
…Maybe that someone is trying to tell me that the Thorne family is directly related to my state.
My father never tells me anything. It could honestly be anything. I won't even be surprised if it turned out he has some secret plan with regard to me.
...It's a bit of a stretch, but let's say it's his fault for now.
Cyril sighed heavily, slowly calming down.
Rhamn nodded in thought. Her face colored with curiosity, she tilted her head at him.
"Is your dad someone powerful?"
Every noble family has a powerful mage within. How can they reach their status without one?
Cyril replied in his mind, frowning. But inevitably his thoughts began racing on the topic.
Rhamn, who could read his mind, simply listened, mumbling to herself in thought.
"You've heard only rumors, people say he was particularly strong... They called him the most powerful knight! He was a knight? ...Some twenty years ago disappeared without a trace, showing up only two years later holding a baby."
Cyril tried to not think about it, but that only led to the opposite effect. In the end, he could only helplessly sigh, accepting his fate.
"Since then your dad retired from the knights, becoming a moneylender."
Having caught herself up to speed, Rhamn snapped her fingers and crossed her arms, her eyes shining with confidence.
"I can see it clearly. This is obviously the case of a mysterious parent! Let's go confront your dad directly!"
She looked at him with double the excitement but soon froze as she read his mind further.
Father never talked about what happened 20 years ago, but I can't imagine it's anything good.
Cyril got up from the bed and went towards his desk.
...Since I am not in any danger, it's fine to take it slow after all. My goal will not change because of such a small incident.
Rhamn watched Cyril take out his study materials with a somewhat disappointed face before making a warm smile.
"That works too. Let's just enjoy our student life." Rhamn nodded in approval and sat nearby, observing Cyril's actions.
"It's the beginning of my studies. I'll focus on getting stronger," he said aloud. "Answers can wait."